Take a beloved literary classic, hurl its words and characters into a zombie apocalypse, and watch the muss ensue.
This is Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.
Elizabeth Bennet (Lily James) is discordant, unwilling to succumb to tradition in 19th Century England. Sound familiar? But did you know she is also a martial arts and weaponry ace? The assured, ravishing Mr. Darcy (Sam Reilly) is still a snoot, though is quite the vicious zombie slayer as well. Clearly, their annoyance for one another cannot be ignored, but neither can their blindsiding affection. Indeed this puts both of them in a sticky situation when they must become comrades to abolish the infected. We know how this story goes. No chance in hell these flesh-eaters are going to cock block Bennet and Darcy.
The transformation of having classic tales and individuals intruded by a horrific atmosphere never pans out like it should once it makes the leap to the big screen. While watching Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, I was regretfully reminded of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, where there’s such dissevering between intention and the finished product. Still, at least Vampire Hunter had the balls to be rated R. For a zombie movie, what the hell happened to all of the bloodshed?!
Director Burr Steers (17 Again, Charlie St. Cloud) doesn’t quite seem like the guy for a genre such as this one. There’s an unsteady grasp on the story and its abundance of ridiculousness. Isn’t this supposed to be tantalizing and fun without ever thinking there’s a pinch of realism taking place? A horror-action hybrid feasting on the pages by Jane Austen should be more savory and tongue-and-cheek than what Steers has stitched together.
The playful lunacy of the urbane battling the undead in this adaptation is doomed almost immediately. No aspirations added with gutless storytelling precipitates one lame fiasco. Thank goodness for Matt Smith, who plays Mr. Collins, realizing how silly all of it is and playing that up for all it’s worth. I wish he would have passed some of his charm and humor along to the rest of the cast.
Ultimately, it’s a movie with a singular focus on fans of Pride and Prejudice and The Walking Dead, and taking advantage of them both. Conceivably it worked with the book, but it’s a lousy excuse for a movie.
Brandon Vick is the resident film critic of the SoBros Network. Follow him on Twitter@SirBrandonV and be sure to search #VicksFlicks for all of his latest movie reviews.
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